2022 outdoor performance of Walking the Beat at Fountain Theatre.
“Critical hope is needed.” Walking the Beat, the Fountain Theatre’s innovative community-building program that sees cops and kids working together to create theater, presents two free performances of this year’s culminating, hope-inspiring production. Two free performances of C.H.I.N. Up!will take place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5 and Sunday, Aug. 6 on the Fountain Theatre’s outdoor stage.
To create C.H.I.N. Up!, 12 teenagers from Compton Early College High School, Hollywood High School, Camino Nuevo Dalzell Lance, Hawthorne High School and Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School joined in a transformative group process with six officers representing the Los Angeles School Police Department to generate ideas and stories around the theme “critical hope is needed.”
Now in its fourth year at the Fountain, “Walking the Beat” utilizes performing arts as a vehicle for youth empowerment and community building, providing life-changing experiences for underserved youth and police officers. Founded by the Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble and led by executive and artistic director Theo Perkins, this year’s program provides students with opportunities to work hands-on with program facilitator and director Angela Kariotis, teaching artists Ali Chen and Nathan James, and drama therapist Danielle Levenas.
“Walking the Beat” supporters include HBO Warner Media,The Araxia & Vladimir Buckhantz Foundation, Mary Jo & David Volk, Allison Thomas, The Audrey & Sidney Irmas Charitable Foundation, The Phillips–Gerla Family and Sharyl Overholser.
Fountain audiences know Tim Cummings as an impassioned actor who brings gritty depth and honesty to every role he undertakes. From his searing work as political activist Ned Weeks in The Normal Heart (2013), to his heart-wrenching portrayal of Mitchell, devoted and loving partner to the suddenly-stricken Daniel in Daniel’s Husband (2019), Cummings never fails to impress.
What was the inspiration for Alice the Cat? What was so appealing about a suicidal cat, her pre-pubescent owner and a haunted house?
I lost my mother to cancer when I was a teenager, and the family cat fell into an intense depression afterward. I came home from school one day to discover she’d been running into the street, attempting to get run over. I had terrible fights with my dad about this; I wanted him to do something, but he wasn’t able to. Eventually, the cat disappeared. I never knew what happened. One day in grad school, earning my MFA in Writing, a question detonated above my head, “What happened to the cat?” I went home and wrote the first sentence of this book.
From there, it took on a life of its own. It felt like Tess, her friends, and the ghost girl, Francine, were waiting for someone to materialize as a vessel to tell their story. It’s a really wild tale, original and strange, emotional, and intensely goofy, too. I think Tess saw in me a writer who could bring her to life based on my great admiration of so many other strong tween female protagonists, like Meg Murry, Fern Arable, Cassie Logan, Lyra Silvertongue, Chihiro Ogino (AKA Sen), Coraline, Malú (María Luisa O’Neill-Morales), and ‘Eleven.’
Tell us a bit about your writing process.
In grad school, I felt safe and sequestered away from life. I’d spent over 35 years as an actor. I wanted to evolve as a storyteller. Writing has always felt private and intimate and open and free to me. I felt it was time to bring it into the light.
In school I just needed to write a book that I needed to read, that I needed to feel, that allowed me to insert all my wackiness, goofiness, darkness, mysticism, and spirituality into a kind of old-fashioned coming-of-age adventure with some really interesting kids who kept surprising me as I wrote them.
I never felt that Alice the Cat would put me on the map. I did it for me. I broke a lot of rules and took a lot risks, but I’m someone who doesn’t play it safe. And a mentor of mine (the astonishing Gayle Brandeis) in my final semester fell hard for the book and assisted me in purring it into the world. And here we are.
What attracts you to writing for the YA crowd?
Those formative years maintain their power over our lives forever. Adults love reading YA and middle-grade, so the readership is vast. There’s a kind of wild freedom when writing into the emotional and psychological states of tweens and teens. I think back to that age and I remember the feelings. It’s a seminal time, rife with hormonal snakings and expressive utterances. It’s great for writing!
The characters in Alice the Cat are delightfully unique, vivid and offbeat. Are any of them based on any real people in your life, or were they completely created from your imagination?
It’s a bit of both, honestly. I grew up outside Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, with mixed-race kids and vivid personalities. I always loved the girls who were tough and strong, but quiet, fighters when they needed to be. Tess is like that. She’s also based on cool female characters from other middle-grade and YA books I love.
I was goth as a teen (still am in many ways) and I love the misfit feeling of being goth. The mystery, creativity, theatricality of it. The love of the music. Lunar Velvet and Dami Tross were always meant to end up in this story. They’re a very real extension of my own innerness. And I adore Eddie and Cotter. They were a little unwieldy to write because they are so singular, so real, so messy, so expressive, but both care about Tess and Alice so much.
You deal with some very real, very difficult situations faced by many young people: loss of a parent/loved one, depression, suicidal ideation, difficulty fitting in, etc. Did you face any of these issues growing up? How did you deal with them?
In my childhood, I was pretty mercilessly bullied for being different. I had to learn to fight back, to find my voice. Theatre and writing did that for me. And at 16, when I lost my mom…I’ve been trying to figure out what to say about that for a long time. In that respect, Alice the Cat is a gateway.
I didn’t want to play it safe with this book. Most middle-grade books play it safe. You need only see what middle-schoolers are actually facing these days to feel inspired to go a little deeper. This is a story about grief, but it also offers levity in its goofiness. And it has a hopeful, responsible ending.
Which character(s) do you personally identify with most in the book?
All of them, for different reasons, but mostly Francine. The ghost. She’s been lingering in purgatory for eons and finally finds a way out, an absolution, through Tess and Alice. She reaches across dimensions to shudder the borders of these worlds and acquire what she needs to move on. And also allows Tess and Alice to remain together in this weird kind of way. I love her. I love that she and Tess share this penchant for anger and how it manifests.
How does your work as an actor inform your writing?
I always go deep into the characters I play. This book is written in first-person—meaning, I inhabited her the way I would inhabit any character I play. I wanted it visceral, embodied, and expressive. Being an actor helps with voice, the ever-elusive magical element to writing that no one seems to be able to put their finger on. Voice in writing is so mercurial. Thankfully, so is my protagonist.
How has reader response been to Alice the Cat?
Wacky, loving, enthusiastic, powerful. Also critical, whiny, and cruel. In other words: 100% normal. It’s what happens when you brave the deep waters of life by putting something into the world. But if you’re an artist, you’re gonna ‘art’ no matter what people have to say about it. It brings me such joy. And the truth is, true joy is impenetrable. At least for me.
Outside of your signing event at the Fountain on Tuesday, June 27, where can folks purchase Alice the Cat?
What’s up next for you? Another book? Another show?
Yes, a few more books are already written, and I’m settling in to get that going. Book # 2 is about theatre kids—and epilepsy. It’s deep, magical, funny, heartbreaking, mysterious, and it features a dog. (And it has some Alice characters in it.) Not sure about the acting. Scattered tiny things here and there, but nothing major. The actor is sleeping. The actor will wake up when the actor feels rested and refreshed; we’ll see if it wants to stay in bed or for me to hand it a cup of coffee, its robe and slippers, see if it rouses and moves about.
Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, Fountain Theatre, 2023.
by Stephen Sachs
“Isn’t that the theatre where they did Last Summer at Bluefish Cove?” It was 1990, and I heard that a lot. My business partner, Deborah Lawlor, and I had just acquired the Fountain Theatre in East Hollywood. We had only an empty building and the dream of transforming it into an energetic artistic home that produced high-quality, meaningful theatre. As it turned out, we also took over a stage where a ground-breaking play ran for two sold-out years just a short while before.
Jean Smart, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, 1983
After an 80-performance run Off-Broadway, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove by Jane Chambers opened at the Fountain Theatre in 1983, with Jean Smart reprising the role of Lil. The ensemble, directed by Hilary Moshereece, also included Camilla Carr, Dianne Turley Travis, Shannon Kriska, Linda Cohen, Sandra J. Marshall, Nora Heflin, and Lee Carlington. Jean Smart was honored with the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. The Fountain production also received a Certificate of Outstanding Theatre from the City of Los Angeles.
That twenty-four-month run of Bluefish Cove at the Fountain Theatre was a turning point for the lesbian community in Los Angeles at the time, a benchmark achievement in L.A. theater, and a milestone in the history of the Fountain. For many queer women, it was the first time they saw themselves on stage in a play written by a lesbian. For straight audiences, it was an entertaining glimpse into a world that held many of the same needs and fears as their own. It was exhilarating.
We now live in dangerous, disturbing times. At least 417 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the United States since the start of the year — a new record. People around the country face violence and inequality because of who they love, how they look, or who they are.
The Fountain Theatre offers this play as public affirmation that we all ache for the same human connection, we all seek love and friendship, no matter our differences. Many who were here forty years ago have never forgotten how this funny, tender play changed their lives. Generations of young queer women today, born after the play was produced here on Fountain Avenue, will visit Bluefish Cove for the first time this summer and discover for themselves what all the joy and excitement was about.
Check out this short new video of Hannah Wolf, fabulous director of Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, as she discusses how love and friendship are core themes of this iconic, funny, and poignant play.
Set in 1974, Bluefish concerns a group of queer women who spend their summers together in a remote seaside town. Their enclave is disrupted when Eva, a naïve straight woman separated from her husband, stumbles unaware into their circle and falls for the charming, tough-talking Lil. This iconic lesbian play bursts with heartfelt friendship, laughter, and love.
Last Summer at Bluefish Cove plays on our Outdoor Stage at 7pm Fridays – Mondays beginning next week. Low-priced previews begin Wednesday, June 14. Opening Night is Saturday, June 17, with a dessert reception to follow. The show runs through Sunday, August 27. TICKETS/MORE INFO.
While the cast of our summer production, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, have been hard at work rehearsing, Sets-to-Go has been hard at work building the incredible set designed by our fabulous scenic designer, Desma Murphy.
Last week, the set for the Bluefish Cove beach cottage where a group of lesbian women spend their summers together was loaded onto our Outdoor Stage. Soon to come will be the rocks and dock of the cove.
Check out this short video chat with Desma and watch the magic happen as the crew installs the set and Bluefish Cove begins to become a reality.
Last Summer at Bluefish Cove begins previews on June 14, opens on June 17, and runs through August 27. Tickets/More Info.
Set in 1974, a group of queer women spend their summers together in a remote oceanfront town on Long Island. Their lesbian enclave is disrupted when Eva, a naïve straight woman recently separated from her husband, stumbles unaware into their circle and falls for the charming, tough-talking Lil. This heartfelt play, a landmark in lesbian history, is bursting with friendship, laughter, love and hope, bringing well-rounded, three-dimensional characters that transcend stereotypes and preconceptions to the stage.
Check out this short video to meet the cast of our hot new summer production, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, opening June 17 on our Outdoor Stage.
Welcome to Bluefish Cove. The Fountain Theatre will transform the parking lot surrounding the set on its outdoor stage to create an oceanfront experience for its 40th-anniversary production of the groundbreaking comedy/drama, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove by Jane Chambers. Directed by Hannah Wolf, performances take place June 17 through August 27, with low-priced previews beginning June 14.
Set in 1974, a group of queer women spend their summers together in a remote oceanfront town on Long Island. Their lesbian enclave is disrupted when Eva, a naïve straight woman recently separated from her husband, stumbles unaware into their circle and falls for the charming, tough-talking Lil. This heartfelt play, a landmark in lesbian history, is bursting with friendship, laughter, love and hope, bringing well-rounded, three-dimensional characters that transcend stereotypes and preconceptions to the stage.
“The play ran for two years, from 1981-1983, at the Fountain Theatre 40 years ago starring Jean Smart, before Deborah Lawlor and I acquired the building and established our company,” says Fountain artistic director Stephen Sachs. “It was a benchmark achievement in L.A. theater, a turning point for L.A.’s queer community, and a milestone in the history of our building. Many women saw and remember it. Now its time for generations of young gay women born after the play was produced here to experience it for themselves.”
One of the first playwrights to depict love between women as happy, healthy, and well-adjusted, Jane Chambers (1937-1983) changed the course of American drama with works informed by second-wave feminism and the burgeoning gay rights movement, including A Late Snow (1974), Last Summer at Bluefish Cove (1980) and My Blue Heaven (1981). A prolific writer, Chambers also authored novels, poetry, and essays in addition to penning scripts for film and television. She trained as an actress at Rollins College and the Pasadena Playhouse because female students were not admitted to writing classes, and enjoyed success as an off-Broadway performer.
“(Bluefish Cove) was a benchmark achievement in L.A. theater, a turning point for L.A.’s queer community, and a milestone in the history of our building. … Now its time for generations of young gay women born after the play was produced here to experience it for themselves.”
–Stephen Sachs
In 1964, Chambers moved to Maine where she worked for MWTW-TV as a content producer and on-air personality. During President Johnson’s War on Poverty, Chambers took a position as arts coordinator with Jobs Corp, creating theater with inner-city youths. While earning a bachelor’s degree at Goddard College, Chambers returned to New York, co-founded Women’s Interart Theatre with Margot Lewitin, and met her life partner, talent agent Beth Allen. Chambers was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died in 1983. Her pioneering spirit is honored by an annual prize given in her name: The Jane Chambers Award for Playwriting is administered by The Women and Theatre Program. Chambers’ impact on American drama is also celebrated by a reading series at TOSOS (The Other Side of Silence) Theatre.
Fountain Theatre co-founder Deborah Lawlor passed away Tuesday, May 2, at the age of 83.
After graduating from Bennington College, Lawlor’s extraordinary career began in the ’60s as a dancer, choreographer and actor in New York, where she was a member of the storied Judson Church/Caffe Cino scene in the Village.
She moved to South India in 1968. There, she pioneered Auroville, a 12-square-mile utopian international community created for human unity that now holds 3,000 inhabitants from around the world. While there, she also created two full-length outdoor dance/theater pieces celebrating the community. After India, she spent ten years in Australia and France studying ancient cultures of India and Egypt.
As an author, she translated the French philosopher and mystic R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz’s work on sacred architecture in “The Temple in Man” (1977), Egyptology in “Symbol and the Symbolic” (1978), and esoteric philosophy in “Nature Word” (1982).
Returning to the U.S. in 1986, she independently produced plays in Los Angeles’ burgeoning intimate theater scene and, in 1990, she and Stephen Sachs co-founded the Fountain Theatre.
Dubbed the “Fountain Theatre’s godmother of flamenco” by the Los Angeles Times, Lawlor was responsible for the Fountain’s extensive dance program, including the company’s renowned “Forever Flamenco” series. Deborah’s 25-year collaboration with Maria Bermudez and Sonidos Gitanos at the Ford Amphitheater and the Fountain began in 1995. Other dance projects at the Fountain include The Women of Guernica, Lawlor’s flamenco-based adaptation of Euripides’ The Trojan Women, which she also directed, and three full-evening dance-theater pieces which she created and directed: Declarations: Love Letters of the Great Romantics; The Path of Love, which she also directed in South India; and the dance opera, The Song of Songs, with music by Al Carmines.
In 2006, she directed the West Coast premiere of the delightful Taxi to Jannah. In 2017, the Fountain, in partnership with the Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy, premiered Lawlor’s play Freddy, the tragic story of legendary dancer Freddy Herko who was a denizen of Andy Warhol’s Factory and a personal friend of Lawlor’s during her Judson Church days. In 2010, Actor’s Equity Association honored Lawlor with its Diversity Award for her dedication to presenting work at the Fountain that is culturally diverse. In 2013, she received special commendations from the City of Los Angeles and the Spanish Consulate for her contributions to the art of flamenco
Deborah grew up in Riverside, California. Her father, Arthur A. Culver, was president of the Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper from 1969 to 1984. He remained on the board of directors until his death in 1994. Deborah’s brother, Tony Culver, passed away in 2002.
“The Fountain Theatre, as it now exists, would not be if not for Deborah Lawlor,” says Sachs. “More than anyone I’ve ever known, she is the foremost example of utilizing one’s privilege for the benefit of others. She will be deeply missed, but she lives on: in Auroville, at the Fountain, and in the hearts of those she touched and the countless lives she changed.”
A memorial celebration to take place on the outdoor stage at the Fountain will be announced at a later date.
The Fountain Theatre is now casting for all roles in its 40th Anniversary production of Jane Chambers’ landmark play, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove. The play ran for two sold-out years at the Fountain Theatre from 1981-1983 in a groundbreaking production starring Jean Smart. The 40th Anniversary production will be performed outside June 17 to August 27 as an immersive experience on the Fountain’s outdoor stage directed by Hannah Wolf.
Storyline: Set in 1980, a group of queer women spend their summers together in a remote seaside town on Long Island. Their lesbian enclave is disrupted when Eva, a naïve straight woman recently separated from her husband, stumbles unaware into their circle and falls for the charming, tough-talking Lil. This heartfelt landmark play in lesbian history, bursting with friendship, laughter, love, and hope, brings well-rounded, three-dimensional characters to the stage to transcend stereotypes and preconceptions.
NOW CASTING
LILIAN (LIL) ZALINSKI – Late 30s/early 40s, any ethnicity, woman. The only single resident of Bluefish Cove (for the moment). Lil is dry, sarcastic, headstrong and a bit of a ladies’ lady. Her lust for women equals her lust for freedom. She’s slept with most everyone in the cove. Lil is suffering from a terminal cancer that progresses throughout the show. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, cuddling, hand holding, and lying in bed together (role does not contain simulated sex).
EVA MORGOLIS – Late 30s/early 40s, white (the script mentions that she has blue eyes), woman. Recently divorced after 12 years of marriage. She’s nervous, curious, worries about what others think about her and likes having a plan. She starts the play heterosexual but is willing to explore her wants and desires with Lil. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, cuddling, hand holding, and lying in bed together (role does not contain simulated sex).
KITTY COCHRANE – 40s, white, woman. “Literature’s most credible women’s libber.” She’s a former OBGYN, current feminist writer and public figure in the women’s movement. She speaks before she thinks, is possessive and takes up a lot of space in any room that she’s in. She’s publicly in the closet and is partnered with Kitty (after a failed relationship with Lil). Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, cuddling, hand holding, and lying in bed together (role does not contain simulated sex).
ANNIE JOSEPH – Late 30s/early 40s, any ethnicity, woman. Famous sculptor, Lil’s oldest friend. She’s the core of the group, steady and patient with the others. She doesn’t care what others think about her. Annie’s married to Rae and presents as butch or stud. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, hand holding, physical closeness.
RAE – Late 30s/early 40s, any ethnicity, woman. Has two grown children from a previous marriage and went through a rough divorce when she came out. Rae struggles with feminism and her love of hosting. Married to Annie for 9 years. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, hand holding, physical closeness.
RITA SANDERSON – 30s, any ethnicity, woman. Trained as a teacher but was outed by her father. She’s punctual, levelheaded and to the point. She’s Kitty’s secretary and lover. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, hand holding, physical closeness.
DONNA ATTERLY – 20s, any ethnicity, bisexual, woman. Donna’s newer to the group. She’s high femme and Sue’s sugar baby. She likes to gossip, is driven by her insecurity and feels like she has something to prove to the group. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, hand holding, physical closeness.
SUE MCMILLAN – 50s, any ethnicity, woman. She’s the eldest of the group and remembers that in every minute. She’s insecure about the age gap, her body and herself. Sue comes from old money, she spends most of her time traveling and has never worked. She’s working through her relationship/dependence on Donna. Seeking queer and lesbian women+ performers of any ethnicity to play a group of old friends. Performers must be comfortable with same gender intimacy (there will be an intimacy director), smoking, wearing bathing suits and swearing. Role contains kissing, hand holding, physical closeness.
Producer/Theatre Company: The Fountain Theatre Artistic Director: Stephen Sachs Managing Director: Simon Levy Director: Hannah Wolf Writer: Jane Chambers Casting Director: Stephen Sachs, The Fountain Theatre Audition Date(s): April 7 – 10, 2023 Callback Date(s): April 14 – 15, 2023 Rehearsal Date(s): May 8 – June 13, 2023 Preview Date(s): June 14 – 16, 2023 Opening Date(s): June 17, 2023 Closing Date(s): August 27, 2023 Rate of Pay: AEA 99-Seat Contract
Earlier this month, eager students and their chaperones from three area high schools visited the Fountain Theatre for specially arranged morning performances of our current hit show, The Lifespan of a Fact. These kids had either been participants in Fountain Voices, the Fountain’s acclaimed theatre education program, or were recruited because they were active in their established high school theatre programs. Many of them already had an interest in the arts, some were newly exposed to it, and quite a few were even considering careers as writers and/or performers. All of them were thrilled to be seeing the show.
On Friday, March 3rd, 44 students from Hollywood High School and 15 students from Helen Bernstein High School were bussed to the Fountain to see Lifespan. A week later, on March 10th, approximately 60 students arrived from Compton Early College High School. Pre-show snacks and lunch were provided in the Fountain’s charming upstairs café, and the kids chatted excitedly about both seeing the show and the Q&A with the cast (Inger Tudor, Jonah Robinson, Ron Bottitta) and director (Simon Levy) that followed the performance.
Ali Nezu, Magnet Coordinator for the New Media Academy and the Performing Arts Magnet at Hollywood High School was also excited for the opportunity. “It’s just been a blessing to have such an amazing group of artists and board members and community people that just love and respect the arts and that understand how desperately we need the arts to create social change,” she said. “And the learning that happens in a situation like this, and the engagement level of the students in the content and their own growth is just so much more than in a situational classroom. So I love that we are inspiring students to experience that but then inspire them and empower them to do that in their own lives moving forward.”
“It’s just been a blessing to have such an amazing group of artists and board members and community people that just love and respect the arts, and that understand how desperately we need the arts to create social change,” says Ali Nezu, Magnet Coordinator for the New Media Academy and the Performing Arts Magnet at Hollywood High School.
“I really appreciate how Fountain Voices teaches students how to get into someone else’s shoes,” enthused Ebony Haywood, who teaches English and Theatre at Compton Early Collage. “To understand how someone else is thinking, to how do you put this story together? How do you present, and represent, this story on stage? It’s like an exercise in being human.”
Sherrick O’Quinn, the Fountain’s Theatre Education Manager, agrees. “Fountain Voices is instrumental in giving kids an opportunity to realize and find their voice,” he says. “The programming we are providing is giving them the tools to learn how to be change agents of the future by using the theater arts to communicate their own stories that can change lives, hearts, and minds. Whether it’s learning how to use playwriting or visiting our theater to see a show, we’re creating accessibility to the arts when we’re seeing students increasingly not being given those opportunities – especially in underserved communities.”
